My loved ones and readers new to our blog, up until today I had planned to tie this month’s posts together with more information about dental care and sensory issues. However, early this morning I read a letter that left me struggling to keep the mascara from streaking discolored rivulets across my face. After taking a few moments to reflect and compose myself, I decided to shift my focus a bit and share a portion of what I received.
“As many of you know, NMTSA received a significant rate cut by the Division of Developmental Disabilities in 2010 that resulted in 70% of our funding being cut…the NMTSA Board of Director’s Finance Committee has determined we can no longer operate a deficit budget after July 1, 2019. Therefore, after July 1st we will be unable to continue providing services to all DDD members unless we are adequately funded to do so (either by DDD itself or through the offset of costs per member). Please note: This is not a request for a co-pay. This is a required budget offset, i.e. the cost to provide services per DDD member that NMTSA’s budget requires in order to continue operating.”
As those of you close to our family or who have been reading our blog for awhile know, NMTSA is where Tony currently receives his Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT). And, like many families, this is a service being funded for him by DDD as the total cost of therapies necessary for our son exceeds our family’s ability to pay. For an individual like Tony, who has significant social and Neurodevelopmental deficits, I believe NMT is the most effective music therapy approach. I have further been advised that as of six months ago, only one other valley clinic still provides NMT services to DDD members. That organization may possibly be in a similar position by now.
As many of you know, I have participated in previous fundraising campaigns for NMTSA. For some time now, incoming funds have not been sufficient to meet the costs of providing services to DDD clients, and as the letter indicates, this clinic has been operating on a budget deficit for some time now. As I write this, the clinic lacks $150 per month- per DDD client– just to break even.
We have already done some of the things the letter recommends, such as contacting our support services coordinator that we have received notice our child’s NMT services are in jeopardy. We will also be participating in an upcoming rate forum with DDD to voice our support for increasing rate reimbursements.
As some of you know, nearly two years ago our family was asked to record a bit of our story for a fundraising campaign for NMTSA. I am including that audio file at the end of this post. I am not sure if the file will come through to our e-mail subscribers, so I would encourage you to visit our blog directly on-line to listen if it has not. I think there is value in hearing directly in my voice what all of this has meant to me. I opted not to record video for them because I knew I couldn’t get through reading what I wrote without crying, and this face doesn’t do tears prettily.
I know a few of you have listened to this already. Please note that the Emily mentioned in the recording as his NMT therapist took over as his habilitative therapist when the fabulous Miss Whitney moved, and that we went six months without receiving NMT services as their clinic was working hard to find qualified candidates willing to accept the pay they were able to offer at their current funding level. Also, Tony has a few more diagnoses then he did at the time I originally recorded this for NMTSA, and there are other ways his skills, tolerance, and flexibility have grown as a result of NMT services in the months that followed.
As I finish writing this, I once again ask my friends and loved ones to look to clinics in your area that provide NMT services to individuals receiving disabilities benefits as you are planning any possible charitable spending. We are just one family taking up one 50 minute time slot each week in one clinic schedule filled with families facing similar needs, stories, and hopes. My son has benefited from the expertise of many disciplines, but some of the critical advances that have really allowed us to move him forward in public settings were and still are being assisted by NMT.
